A national county government association announced this week that the Citrus County Commission has saved residents $541,000 on uninsured drug prescriptions in the past three years.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) sponsors a discount program that the commission has taken part in for residents since 2006.

The NACo Prescription Card Discount program aims to help both residents who don’t have insurance for prescriptions and those whose insurance doesn’t cover certain prescriptions.

When NACo made the announcement, the county commissioner who originally pushed to get the county to participate said he’s happy about the savings for residents but added that he wants to see the numbers go up by three times or more.

Commissioner Gary Bartell said he thinks that can happen if everyone in the county who does not have insurance for prescriptions is aware of the program, and has a card. He fears many do not, and they miss out on the savings. He recently spoke to two residents, for example, who had no insurance and had to pay three-figure prescription bills. Neither knew about the cards, which was unfortunate, he said.

All pharmacies in the county participate in the discount program, which on the average saves someone from 20 to 22 percent, and sometimes more. And now a new online mail order program recently added to the program can save up to 50 percent on three-month’s supply of some commonly prescribed drugs.

“Any savings on these expensive drugs can be significant, even critical, to family budgets today,” Bartell said.

While the card can’t be used with insurance, Bartell urges residents who have insurance to get a card and use it anytime a perscription is not covered under their insurance. The card can be used by anyone in the family. It is not an insurance program, and there is no cost. There are no age or income requirements.

County residents qualify for the card because the county is a member of NACo. Aside from many other benefits the county gets from NACo, such as access to pooled government buying, (saving almost $270,000 since 2005), the savings on prescriptions is obviously well worth the $2,300 annual dues, Bartell said, and he is beginning a public effort to make more people aware of the card.

During the month of September, Citrus County residents who did not have insurance coverage saved $34,514 on $161,542 worth of prescriptions. Bartell said he knows that number could be over $100,000 in savings, and he is going to do what he can to make it happen each month. “Call it a crusade or whatever,” he said, “but it’s one thing government can do to help citizens. I hate to see those potential personal savings lost.”

The commissioner said he will be happy to explain to any anyone who will listen.

The cards are available free, with no obligation or application, in county buildings and at most pharmacies. Bartell plans to make sure the cards are available in every pharmacy in the county, and many other locations, too. Many pharmacies already have them. They are available in the courthouse, at the Lecanto Government Building, the Citrus County Resource Center and the County government office in Crystal River, where the Property Appraiser and Tax Collector have offices.

To get a card online, residents can go to www2.caremark.com/naco/ and download a card with their name on it. By doing that, they can also register for the online mail-order discount supplies, which for 90-day supplies, for example, can save up to 50 percent. There are charts available to show what drugs are available, and what potential savings can be. Either card works the same for pharmacy prescriptions.

The program is administered by Caremark, which negotiates the discounts directly with participating pharmacies. Neither NACo nor the participating counties receive any revenue from the program.

For more information, call Nancy Neale at 341-6569 or Jim Hunter at 527-5484.